--- title: "Is a Made-to-Order Item Tax-Free on Order Day or at Pickup?" description: "The tax-free procedure is done on the day the shop hands the item to you, not the day you order. Below: what happens if it is finished after you leave, the shop-side shipping routes, what to bring on pickup day and how the 90 days count, from the National Tax Agency Q&A." lang: en canonical: https://refund-japan.com/articles/made-to-order published: 2026-11-05 updated: 2026-11-05 author: "Hiroto Kusabayashi (CEO, APORON Inc.)" publisher: "RefundJapan (APORON Inc.)" --- # Is a Made-to-Order Item Tax-Free on Order Day or at Pickup? > The tax-free procedure is done on the day the shop hands the item to you, not the day you order. Below: what happens if it is finished after you leave, the shop-side shipping routes, what to bring on pickup day and how the 90 days count, from the National Tax Agency Q&A. Last checked: 2026-11-05 Responsible: Hiroto Kusabayashi, CEO of APORON Inc. (drafted by AI from primary sources, checked by a person) From purchases made on November 1, 2026, you pay the tax-included price in the shop, and the consumption tax is refunded after customs confirms at departure that the goods have left Japan with you ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html), checked November 5, 2026). Some purchases are not ready on the day you pay: a tailored suit, glasses with lenses made for you, or an item made to your order and collected later. The National Tax Agency answers when the tax-free procedure happens in that case ([National Tax Agency Q&A, July 2026](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q19, checked November 5, 2026). This article explains that answer and what follows from it. ## When is the tax-free procedure done for a made-to-order item? When the shop hands the item to you. The Q&A says the tax-free procedure must be done when the eligible buyer purchases the goods at the tax-free shop, and that the time of purchase means the time the shop hands the goods over. For an item ordered at the counter, made, and collected on a later visit, the procedure is done when you come back and receive it ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q19). ## Can I do the tax-free procedure on the day I place the order? The Q&A ties the procedure to the handover, not to the order. Ordering, paying a deposit or choosing the fabric is not the moment the sources describe. What happens to money paid at the order stage is not covered in the sources we checked, so ask the shop how it records a deposit. ## What if the shop finishes it after I have gone home? Then the shop's tax-free system does not apply. The Q&A gives this case directly: if the order is taken at the counter and the item is handed over by sending it to your home after you have returned, the tax-free procedure cannot be done at the handover, so the tax-free shop system does not apply ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q19). That is a reason to check the finishing date against your departure date before you order. ## Is there another way if I cannot collect it in person? The Q&A points to two routes under the export exemption in Article 7 of the Consumption Tax Act: on a later visit, you sign a transport contract at the shop and hand the item to the forwarder there (direct shipping), or the shop itself exports the item to the place abroad that you specify ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q19, note). Whether a shop offers either differs from shop to shop ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html), checked November 5, 2026); how both routes work, and why no airport customs check is needed, is explained in [shipping tax-free goods abroad from the shop](https://refund-japan.com/articles/tried-to-ship-it-home). ## What should I bring on the pickup day? Because the tax-free procedure is done at the handover, the pickup day is the day the shop takes your passport details and makes the purchase record ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q17, Q19). Bring the passport itself; [why a photo of it does not work](https://refund-japan.com/articles/passport-original-only) is explained separately. Bring the order slip as well, so the shop can match the item to your order. ## After pickup, what is the same as any other purchase? Everything from there follows the usual route. You carry the item, show your passport at a tax-free procedure kiosk at the departure airport or port, and receive the customs check within 90 days of the purchase date ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html)). The 90 days are counted from the day after the purchase date (National Tax Agency Q&A, Q36); [which day is day 1](https://refund-japan.com/articles/counting-90-days) has the details. The kiosks are before baggage drop, so keep the item with you until the check is done ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)). The customs check works per receipt. If even one item on a receipt is not with you, none of the items on that receipt can receive the check (same FAQ). If a made-to-order suit is collected together with other goods on one receipt, all of them need to be with you at the kiosk. ## Which situations does this come up in? Glasses ready a few days after the eye test. You collect them before you fly, and the tax-free procedure is done at the counter when they are handed to you ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q19). From then on they are carried and checked like any other purchase. A suit that will be finished after your flight. Sending it to your home after you have returned is the case the Q&A says cannot use the tax-free shop system. If the shop can export it to your address abroad itself, that falls under the export exemption instead (same Q&A, Q19, note; Q42). Ask before you order whether the shop does this. An item collected on the morning you fly. The procedure is still done at the handover, and the item then has to reach the departure kiosk with you, before baggage drop ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)). Leave enough time between the shop and the airport. ## What do the sources not cover? The sources we checked do not say how a deposit paid at the order stage is treated, how later alterations are handled, or which date a shop prints when an item is ordered on one day and collected on another. Ask the shop about these when you order. ## What do readers ask most? ### Is a tailored suit tax-free on the day I order it? The tax-free procedure is done when the shop hands it over, which for a made-to-order item is the pickup day ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q19). ### Can the shop post it to my home after I leave and still give me the refund? Not under the tax-free shop system. The Q&A says that case cannot use it (same Q&A, Q19). ### Can the shop ship it abroad another way? The Q&A names direct shipping and export by the shop itself, both under the export exemption in Article 7 (same Q&A, Q19, note). ### Do I need the airport kiosk for an item the shop shipped? For direct shipping, normally no, because a customs broker files the export declaration (same Q&A, Q41). ### Does the 90-day count run from the order? The 90 days are counted from the day after the purchase date, and the Q&A treats the purchase as the handover (same Q&A, Q19, Q36). Confirm the date on your purchase record with the shop. ## What should I ask the shop when I order? 1. When will it be ready, and is that before my departure date? 2. Will the tax-free procedure be done on the pickup day? 3. How is a deposit paid today recorded? 4. If it is not ready in time, do you offer direct shipping or export it yourselves? 5. Will it be on its own receipt, or together with other goods? ## Sources - [Japan Tourism Agency, page for travelers (checked November 5, 2026)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html) - [Japan Tourism Agency, traveler FAQ (checked November 5, 2026)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html) - [National Tax Agency, Q&A on the refund system, July 2026, Q17, Q19, Q36, Q41 and Q42 (checked November 5, 2026)](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf) RefundJapan confirmed this as of November 5, 2026. Rules and services may change. ## Sources - [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html) - [National Tax Agency Q&A, July 2026](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf) - [Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)